Hehe hope Ferrari sorted out all the technical probs and have that engine stronger than ever! :D , this weather supposedly helps Mercs and im assuming they sorted out there tyre deterioration probs so i hope luck is on our side :)

Sochi, April 27 – Scuderia Ferrari drivers are all set for the new challenge at Sochi. The team arrives at Sochi leading both drivers’ and constructors’ championships, but both Seb and Kimi are well aware that this weekend won’t be a walk in the park.

“We have a good car and the challenge for this year will be to make sure that we keep on having a good one”, says Seb.” I think everybody will improve their own cars and we’ll do our best as well. I’m looking forward to this weekend as we seem to be closer to our competitors than last year. Of course we had an excellent start to the season, but Mercedes are still very strong. It should be an interesting race. I like the track and it’s not an easy one. It’s difficult to have everything in one lap and there’s always a couple of things to look out for. Tomorrow will be an important day. We are happy with where we are and about the races we’ve had so far, but especially this year we have to focus on every single step.

Kimi finished on the podium last year at Sochi, but he seems to be just a little puzzled with… the location. “I like this race, but you wouldn’t think that we are in a country neighboring Finland, as here we’re quite far away from that border! The track is quite interesting, too. If you look at the past races here, it has not been easy for us to make the car and tires work as we wanted, but with the new cars and new rules the picture can be completely different. Also, the weather seems to be warmer than last year and this could help”.

“So far, this season has been very close with Mercedes,” he adds, “but It’s hard to know how this weekend will go. Obviously if you look at last year’s races they have been pretty strong everywhere compared to the other teams. This is a new weekend and I think we have a good package, but who knows, there’s always some tracks that fit one team a little bit better than the others. We can only do our best and hopefully we can be up there in the fight. As for myself, I haven’t had a problem with the car in the last race, in fact the feeling has been pretty good, but I need to qualify in a better position to be able to use its speed”.

regarding that oil as fuel stuff i read, was it only mercs cheating like that last year? were they doing it the first 3 races in quali (would be nice to know if thats why they are half a second faster) or has it been banned since the start of the season?

Some discrepancies in how late different drivers are braking for Turn 2 early on. Most seem to be targeting the 100m marker. It's noticeable the Ferraris can go beyond that quite comfortably, the Red Bulls too (though Ricciardo had a big lock up on one lap).

The McLarens and Mercedes have been more reserved so far. Ericsson's Sauber has been noticeably aggressive, but last of the late brakers at the moment is Grosjean. via Ben Anderson Autosport